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Magazine Article

If we define "prosumer" cameras as those with 5x lenses and
higher (including the 12x Panasonic Lumix FZ-20), then in the past
year we've seen the "prosumer" category split into two distinct
groups: those that favor the very-wide-angle (28mm "equivalent" or
wider), and those that favor the moderate wide-angle. Consumercams
of yore, including the permanent-mount 35s and most zoom-equipped
digicams since the beginning, zoom-out to a wide-angle extreme
whose "equivalent" is 35mm. As far as wide-angle lenses go, that's
not very.

The wide-angle end of things is still the province of the
interchangeable-lens DSLR. Those 2x 17-35mm lenses mentioned
earlier provide about a 24mm "equivalent" wide-angle view, which is
substantially more than the 28mm of the permanent-lens models.
Nikon and Sigma both have introduced 12-24mm lenses (the Sigma
model providing full-frame coverage, bestowing a true 12mm on the
three full-frame cameras now selling—two Kodak DSLRs and a
Canon, prices starting at about $5k). Some of these
interchangeable-lens DSLRs are beginning to penetrate the
prosumercam's price range, even as the prosumercams have penetrated
the DSLR's extravagant versatility.

X Marks the Spot

The interchangeable-lens cameras and permanent-lens prosumercams
have, in fact, begun a crossover that we should expect to turn into
a landslide. At the time this is written (mid-January), the best
deal we find on eBay for a 6.3MP Pentax *ist DS with standard
18-55mm lens, brand new, Pentax USA warrantee, is $869; for the
6.3MP Digital Rebel with standard 18-55mm lens, $849; for the 8.1MP
Olympus E-300 Evolt with standard lens, $829. This is around what
we paid for the Kodak DC50 in 1996, and half the price of the Ricoh
RDC-1.

It's also what you pay, more or less, for many of the
5x-and-higher, 5MP-and-more, fixed-lens prosumercams described
here. Within a range of $100 higher or lower, Joe 'n Jane Foto can
consider three breeds of prosumercams where there were once only
two: wide-angle specialists, telephoto specialists, and
interchangeable-lens DSLRs that specialize in everything.

Now that the vast economic distinctions between fixed-lens and
interchangeable-lens cameras are disappearing, the complexities of
buying—and selling—these products compound. It's easy
enough to figure out if you need a fixed-lens camera whose strength
is wide-angle or telephoto. But how do you compare that decision
against the prospect of buying a camera whose interchangeable
lenses can cover the same range?

A few of the pros and cons:

Permanent-lens cameras are more compact, and their mounts, being
permanent, cannot be knocked out of alignment or otherwise damaged.
But interchangeable-lens cameras still have physically larger
imaging chips (in most cases) with larger pixels, so theoretically
are capable of a cleaner, lower-noise picture.

Don Sutherland has sold cameras across the counter, shot with
them as a pro, and written about them for more than 30 years. His
first article predicting the future of digital photography (1976)
is becoming truer and truer. Don is a photo historian as well as
futurist, and is author of the immortal slogan, "If you have one
foot in the future and one in the past, you understand the present
perfectly." Email Don at ssuthe7880@aol.com.

You usually don't require cleaning the imager in fixed-lens
cameras. You do in interchangeable-lens cameras (except for the
Olympus models, with their supersonic wave sensor-cleaning
feature).

Interchangeable-lens DSLRs have bright, color-accurate optical
viewfinders. Fixed-lens cameras have electronic
viewfinders—better than they used to be, but still like
watching your pictures on TV.